LYING awake at night, Angela Sakala knew she needed to get on top of her debts.
She owed £13k on credit cards and was living payday to payday.
The 41-year-old, who lives in Somerset, had a wake-up call moment after looking at three months’ worth of bank statements and realising she was wasting 40% of her income.
Angela, a finance business partner, said: “I was shocked, it was the wake up call I needed. I sorted all my finances into four buckets – essential, debt, savings and non-essential.
“And it worked out that 40% of my monthly salary was going on non-essential spending.”
The mum of two girls aged six and eight had been following women on social media who did ‘cash stuffing’ as a way of controlling their finances.
This is a budgeting method whereby you divide cash into different envelopes allocated for various spending categories throughout the month.
Angela saw for herself that change was possible.
So, in January 2024, knowing she needed to take action, she set up an Instagram account @budgetwith.mtima, but wanting to remain private she used only her middle name and remained faceless to avoid being identified.
Angela said: “Talking about your finances is something that’s usually private but I knew for me to do this properly I needed to be held accountable.”
The first challenge Angela set herself was to tackle her impulse spending on her cards.
Instead of doom scrolling and buying things without much thought, Angela made a rule that she had to get dressed and get into the car to go and buy it with cash.
“It was usually by the time I got to the car, that I thought to myself I didn’t really need it, I would sort of come to my senses,” she explained.
Angela did various money saving challenges, as well as splitting her monthly salary into essential spending on bills and groceries.
She put 20% to debt, 20% to savings and 10% for non-essential.
In 12 months she had paid off £8,815 off her debt using a combination of the 20% direct from salary and cash stuffing.
One of her favourite challenges was the Penny Saving challenge, where on day one you save 1p, day two, 2p, day three 3p and so on.
Angela said: “Even though I was in debt this was something I could do. It didn’t feel like it was a huge task to do and it really makes you think about your non-essential spending.”
Then, she started doing another savings challenge called Fiver Friday, where you put £5 away each Friday.
For Angela, this helped her to learn to be consistent with saving.
She said: “Cash stuffing is a game changer. I set achievable savings goals and I pop money into a cash stuffing binder.
“I use a savings tracker to mark off my savings achievements which has been great to keep me motivated.”
Six months in, and Angela felt in control so decided to share her journey with her family and friends.
She said: “There is a stigma around not being savvy with your finances but everyone was so receptive and understanding.
“It made it easier when turning down a dinner invite as I felt comfortable in suggesting a cheaper way to meet up.”
Angela is on track to clear her debt by July 2025 and now has £3,000 in savings.
By doing her Savings Challenge journey, she’s been able to clearly see the psychology behind her spending.
Boredom, mum guilt and emotional triggers have all been reasons Angela impulsively spent money but she is now determined to break the cycle.
How to start saving
If you want to start a savings habit, here are some other ways you could build up a rainy day fund.
- Saving challenges
The Penny Saving challenge and Fiver Friday both used by Angela are fun and challenging ways to save money consistently. Helping to shift perspective on spending.
- Cash stuffing
Looking ahead at the next six-months, Angela has planned for the things she needs to save for such as birthdays, days out and Easter.
Creating envelopes and goal amounts, which are achievable, and every month physically take the money out and dividing it up into each envelope.
- Selling
Making time to put unwanted items on Vinted worked for Angela to bring in some much needed extra money to pay off her debt or put towards savings.
- Mystery shopping
Signing up to a mystery shopping app and taking on tasks when she goes to her local shops are another way for Angela to bring in some extra cash.
How to clear debt
Financial Coach, Philly Ponniah, from phillyfinancial.co.uk, gives her top tips on clearing debt..
Keep a diary of spending and write down how you’re feeling when you spend, this will help you to understand how and why you’re making those purchases giving you an opportunity to tackle potential habits.
Allocating money to non-essential spending is important to allow yourself some joy in your life and it will keep you motivated.
Tackle impulsive spending and remove temptation by unsubscribing from marketing materials.
Delete your card details to create a pain point of having to get up and get your card and delete automated shopping apps such as Uber Eats and Amazon.
Start with the biggest debt with the highest APR first and consider putting that over to a 0% with the endeavour to keep bringing that debt down.
Most importantly, write down your goals and be clear about what you would like to achieve.
Visualise what life will be like when you reach it.
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